


Silver In The Sea

by itstheendofthegoddamnworld



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Blood and Injury, Drowning, F/M, Mentions of Asra, Mentions of memory loss, Pirate Julian Devorak, Pirates of the Caribbean References, Reader is a mermaid, The Arcana AU, a goodish ending, different timeline, julian has one eye and knows asra already, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-08
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2020-10-12 17:16:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20567999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itstheendofthegoddamnworld/pseuds/itstheendofthegoddamnworld
Summary: A year into his travels at sea, Julian Devorak is faced with the highs and lows of sailing across the southern sea; facing the dangers that come with it. As physician, he is given many opportunities to live out the days in surviving for himself - especially against many things that want him dead.





	1. Storms Swell

**Author's Note:**

> I will try to get the character of Julian as best as I can.
> 
> Mentions of blood, injury, near drowning experiences. Julian likes to talk his way out of everything, nearly costing him to lose his tongue.

The winds howled and blew with a defiance, a chaos that swirled and twisted the world around it into its grasp; on set for destruction. A storm bigger than the ones ever seen across the southern sea had set its course for havoc, creating an off-balance for all those that were in its way.

Screams and shouts for lack of order could barely be heard through the commotion and screams of the sea's revenge, and Julian's ears rang like bells playing its heavy toll in his mind. He had heard those bells before, setting off the unknown memories of hearing the mark for dread: a dead monarch, a city under siege, he had been there for amany.

Through the eye of the storm, the rain slashed and cut through men like they were fishes ready for gutting, and Julian had never seen such a storm so bad in the time he had been sailing for new adventures. _Eliana's Song_ \- named after one of the old King's daughters eons ago- was a highly treasured and hefty vessel; with high sails and large a hull wider than any of the other spice ships he had seen. 

She was a mighty vessel, able to block off attacks and last through years without being destroyed from the weather, but Julian thought that the Gods must've been joking and acting cruel for this day to finally see to both to bring it down. They were being under attacked by both weather and men from another ship; looking to steal and kill and sink her to a watery grave.

_How shameful._ Julian thought, ducking as a collision from the pirate's cannon caved into the right side of the ship._ I was wanting to see this beauty come back into port in the near summer._

"Devorak, you're needed." The quartermaster spoke over the screams that definitely told him that someone was injured: a man screaming more than just bloody murder. Julian didn't need to reply, stepping out with one weary look into the open as he ran with his supplies into the firing range. The rain poured and nearly sent him flying to the ground, but he managed to plant himself in time to miss a rumble from the bowels of the vessel, sending over men to the floor.

"Hold on old friend, stay with us." Julian's voice was border on calm for the entire situation, kneeled before the man as the rain soaked and washed the injurer's blood away. He didn't know why he was all so positive in this situation, he was risking his life for a man who already had his right foot blown off, laying in his own blood and those of his crew.

He had seen many deaths before, many during a crisis like this: failing to save another's life when he thought so little of his own. It made him wonder why he was so selfless, for being an unlicensed doctor was there to help others.

Following procedures like clockwork, Julian shut the man up with some cloth that he had ripped from his shirt, stuffing it in his mouth as he tried to concentrate over the sounds of other dying men and cannons flying in all directions. He assessed his wound, using as much cloth to stop the bleeding, blood already seeping in through it and staining his gloved hands.

The smell of ash was strong in the air, and Julian had grown used to the smell of bodies around him, but never was a smell so foul as a body caught on fire. He looked over, the shouts of his name calling him-- no- _screaming_ at him to get on with helping another with lesser injuries. "He's a dead man." He had heard so often, he could know when it would be said.

Julian looked to the man as he was slowly succumbing to blood loss, and he moved on, sending a silent prayer to him as he crawled hands and knees through blood, guts and corpses. _There was no time to pray for the dead, not like this._ He thought.

"Sir, there are men needing help down in the gallery, shall I attend to them?" Julian leaned into a fallen piece of the mass, leant with the First Mate. "They'll be dead before the sun even rises Devorak. Stay on deck and above. I'm not going to lose an idiot of a doctor like you. The Gods may be cruel, but they will be crueller if they take you with them."

Julian would've laughed at the comment, or perhaps compliment, laughter yet mirthless in the situation. "When this is over, I'll buy you a drink, how does that sound Doctor? Just to laugh and say we survived a ship wreck and pirate onslaught."

"A pint of salty bitters will suffice me Sir." Julian had missed the taste of it, trying to remember when he had had it last. At 2am in a pub during his time training. All there was on board was salty crackers and warmed rum lying in the sun, and that didn't serve him to satisfaction at all. "Gods you may outrun your damn mouth, but one would have to be a half-wit to know of your skills." Praised the quartermaster, an unknown conviction and feeling to know what to mean of it.

A crash from the far end of the ship caught their attention, smoke rising as Julian thought the deck was beginning to feel unbelievably hot. "Water is coming in from the hull Sir!" The physician heard from who knew where, as the vessel groaned with the knowing of its end. "Then let's give the fuckers a fight then! Do **not** cease fire!"

The sky cracked with fire above and Julian saw how much it lit up the entire dark sky. A flash of the neighbouring vessel attacking them, smoke filling his lungs as well as sea salt. He wasn't believing he was dying today, oh no-- _Eliana's Song_ was a strong one, and she wouldn't go down without a fight. Another crash and a churn of something came from both ends, and Julian groaned with it. "Sir, most of our cannons have been destroyed or sunken!"

"Prepare to evacuate ship! She's a goner gentlemen. Prepare the dinghy."

Rain and sea salt scratched at the side of Julian's face, as he blinked back the saltiness from his grey eye. He wasn't crying - the last time he believed he cried was when he was saying farewell to _Pasha_, and she had cried an ocean for him that day. So much so that he had cried with her in their embrace goodbye as she begged him not to leave:

_"Don't leave me _Ilya_, please."_

Only the Gods knew how long ago he had seen her last: way when he was setting off to begin a career as a doctor in _Prakra_, when he was saying goodbye to his humble town of _Nevivon_. They had both been young, too young to know of the consequences to life and what trauma would be followed. She had been young but would she of recognised him now? Smiling brightly as he made his way back to port and hug and cry when they saw each other? 

He had forgotten of the past life he once lived, where he lived with Pasha and they were both happy. But Julian wanted more to life and he wished to not look back, or else he would become lost. _A smiling younger sister is who I want to see again._ He thought glumly, as carnage continued to ensue around him. _I'm not going to die today, not until I see her, or else I've failed her and I._

He was toppled over abruptly when another cannon ball hit the middle, a spray of bodies flying from the drastic hit as more things caught on fire. Men were evacuating, some hoping that the sea would save them as they jumped overboard. There was a deafening cry from all around him, and Julian wished he had been smarter than to risk his life jumping over board too.

He could hear his name being shouted at from those around him, those calling him for his aid, others screeching for him to get his dramatic hind off the now-sinking ship. He was useless to both he thought, standing to his height as he looked around with one of his good eyes.

The final strike from either the lightning or from the ramming ship was enough to cease the vessel's journey to beneath the waves, as she cracked merely in two if those could witness it from afar. Her entire vessel shook, sending men over the rails as they were trying to get as many on the dinghy as possible. If Julian was to survive this, he was not thinking in Hell he would be surrounded by other men on a small crowded boat.

Even looking down, the waters were blackened, as if Hell was awaiting for every crew member and himself. He hesitated for a second, before the ground split just below his feet. An opening of an opportunity arose and Julian took it, leaping down as the gap grew larger and larger, water swelling into the cracks as men fell and burned. The fall was long and Julian could hear those of the crashing waves waiting to meet him as he landed, the cold taking over his body when it hit him.

He crashed beneath the waves in a frantic crawl, kicking and pushing as all he could see beneath the waves was darkness and sinking bodies. There was debris falling in, large pieces of wood that he had to be careful of as he finally breached the surface, gasping as if it had been his first intake of breath in a long time.

_Men are dying up there, and here I am, being a coward, not dying beside them._ He thought, trying to attempt to swim as he watched in horror, the dingy that was coming down with the ropes caught fire, toppling those inside backwards as they fell into the water, crashing and not resurfacing. He gulped wiping at his brow as he looked around him. A sea for a group of innocent men, not ready to die in the graveyard of water below.

"Oh gods, the mast! Watch out!" Julian gaped in horror as he stared up into the sky, the largest mast was caught alit with everything else, titling so closely off as the flames caught it to tilt. The dread was something that made Julian Devorak's body kick into overdrive, scrambling to kick at all his long limbs as the mast grew exponentially closer and closer as it fell like a lead weight.

The doctor made a descent under, trying to pull his long body down and down as far as he could get himself to go, his head looking up to see just in time the massive piece to come crashing with a roar in the sea, sinking quicker than Julian could expect.

A piece snagged onto the corner of his shirt, and Julian would've groaned in the discomfort and pain when a long slash came to the back his lower back, his shirt ripping as he struggled to release himself. _No, I will not die._ His mind was in two parts, tugging at his conscious as he was growing desperately short of breath the longer he was down there. His mind always went back to a smiling Pasha, awaiting him for see him, but her smile dropping quicker when there was no sign of him getting off.

He finally released himself from the piece of broken wood, his lungs feeling as if they had caught fire as he tiredly carried his body to the surface. His eye stung with salt, his throat burning as he spluttered and coughed. "Anyone alive! Help me! Can anyone hear me?" His voice called over the water as the dying sounds of men quietened. _Eliana's Song_ cried a final woeful tune as she softly and slowly begun to sink beneath the black waves.

Julian gritted his teeth, kicking as he grabbed a piece of debris to use as a float, his hand going back and past the open skin, grunting in surprise as what when he pulled back was blood stained on his fingers. _Oh Gods._ He barely panicked, but seeing himself injured gravely was one that made him think to what could possibly be in the water awaiting him with an empty tomb for himself.

The sea was known for sharks and sometimes krakens- men were always creative in thinking of tales of the large creatures that could pull ships over and under. Sea dragons that belonged more in the northern sea, with breath more cold than hot, able to freeze over a vessel on the spot. It wasn't the krakens or the sea dragons that worried him- he had heard story after story told to him and he grew almost bored from them.

He looked down and surrounding him, and the black water had a reddish tint to it, staining his open and cut shirt as he tried to stay awake even when he knew he wasn't tried in that way. 

He eventually decided it was better to try and see how far possibly he could've been from land, but there was no islands nor anything but open dark water surrounding him, the sky with litters of stars pouring in in his sight. He blinked slowly, just staring up into the night sky with no thoughts coming to mind than to just make it out alive. Julian was desperately floating, his head pounding with an unknown headache that was appearing. He blamed it on the rum that night before the attack.

His head bobbing up and down in the water, as he thought maybe it was better to see whether he should let go. He was leagues away from land, with possibly injuries that could get infected without proper treatment. He smiled a pained smile, chuckling at how worthless he felt in this moment. _Pasha... I'm sorry._ He succumbed, his head falling beneath the waves as he sunk and sunk and sunk.

He waited for his death, blinking with red eyes in the water as he thought of how his sister would find out of the news, her reaction and whether she would mourn like how he would believe or not she would for him.

Movement caught him to turn, through the shadowy and onyx abyss, something silver flashed in his peripheral vision. _So sharks _did_ exist, excellent._ He would've laughed in that moment as he was finding it harder and harder to breath. _Be gentle to me, and don't ruin my face to recognition, so they can at least bury me in a marked grave._

He shut his eye, blinking in and out of consciousness, and that night, Julian Devorak thought he had died. What awaited him in a dream-like euphoric state was a hangman that awaited with a noose in its grip. 

"Traitor, murderer, and you call yourself a doctor. You practise and play roulette with other's lives instead of helping them."

He was swallowed into death's gullet, ravens and crows with humanoid features awaiting him, as the clawed and scratched at his flesh, screaming for him to die. "Awaits your truth _worthy_ doctor. A special place in Hell for you."

He was burned, cut apart and eaten limb by limb as he watched, but he thought of it all as a worthy punishment. All for the crimes and tests that he failed in succeeding. All those lives, men who deserved a better chance at surviving. He was given chance after chance to help someone, and only did he get one out of a thousand casualties that lived.

When he had awoken, he wasn't in some seventh Hell, nor some version of it as punishment. He wasn't even in the sea anyone, drowning slowly as he waited to be feasted on by sharks. He had awoken to a blinding light in his eye, causing him to grown in confusion and pain; a headache worse than any of the hangovers he had experienced before. He adjusted to the pain, questions tumbling through his head to make him question how the hell he ended up out of the water and was not in fact dead.

_Was this some afterlife or reality he knew of already?_ He couldn't decide, even when everything he touched felt so real. There was warm sand beneath him, burning his flesh pink and stinging his back, almost forgetting about the wound that seemed so real. There was pain everywhere in his body, and when he stretched to prop himself up, he found himself surrounded by a white beach, water and tropic trees surrounding in the middle.

He had found himself onto an island, but _wait?_ It had seem that he was **miles** out from land, and unless he was loopy from blood loss or he had managed to swim unconscious, there was no believing he had managed to do this whilst badly injured.

_They won't believe this story when I tell them this in pubs._ He groaned silently, the clear blue water stretched and never ending, nothing there for him to see. _If I manage to make it back._

Standing up took longer than he expected, his legs were congealed like jelly, replacing his bones with paper as he crashed into the sand below on his first step. His entire body feels like it was on fire; drenched in flames that he couldn't get out from. Tired grunts and moans came the back of Julian's throat, a moment to press his hand to the wound on his back. From the feel of it, it didn't seem too deep, but it was longer than he expected, managing to get him from all the way around just to the beginning of the band of his trousers.

When he pulled his hand back, his fingers were slick with fresh blood.

_I've survived sieges and attacks, seen more dead than those alive. I've lived with pirates who threatened me with my own life and head._ He told himself. _A little blood will not kill me._ But he had to begin healing said wound, or else it could worsen and bring his health to something more life-threatening. Staggering half way as best as he could on his feet then crawling, Julian dragged himself through the sand towards the edge of the water, clear and cold it felt as if it was cleansing his soul.

Step by step, he took it slow, knowing already of the even further pain he would feel once the water got to waist depth. But he thought of the outcome if he didn't as he lowered himself as the salt water met the wound.

No amount of pain could amount to what he was experiencing, and now he understood what his patients felt when they were in pain. He barked out a laugh, airy as he hissed through his teeth. For some reason, the pain made him think to Asra; the magician he knew from the years working in medicine before going off to explore. _He would call me some sadistic bastard for liking the pain so much._ He huffed, trying to shake his head away from the thought.

A splash came from behind him, as Julian wadded through the water to turn, looking outward towards the deep end. The water grew murkier from what he could see, and he didn't to know what was possibly out there watching. Another splash came, and he squinted, a flash of clear silver slithered like a snake through the abyss of the water, not even that far from him.

He never got out of the sea as quick as that ever before. 

For his wound, he tried to find simple things, for there was no balms to put into the wounds, but the salt water had helped in cleaning it out thoroughly. He ended up gathering wet seaweed and wrapping it heavily around his entire waist.

By the time Julian walked back to the shore, his clothes were soaked, heavy and clung to him and the sun was setting low on the horizon. He would have to make a fire quick before he caught a chill. Looking for sticks and materials to start a fire were harder than he realised, and he rethought his career ideas in becoming a survivalist rather than doctor. Stripping out of his cold clothes, he set up camp not too far from the water, starved from food and lack of water, he sat by the fire, rethinking his choices.

He would think there would be barely few ships that would be passing through, but he could only hope there would be another spice ship that could possibly pick him up and take him somewhere. And anywhere for it didn't matter where he went.

The cold had settled into his bone, a primal hunger for food had made him think he was going to begin to lose his mind, so he decided to try and calm himself, thinking of a nice cup of black coffee and a plate lobster claws.... **_hmmm_**. How his stomach rumbled for that luxury.

He laid out stretched like he had gotten shot, lying on his side as he stared idly into the dying flames. The same sound of something popping its head out of breaching the water came from not too far from him, making him shoot up more abruptly when he remembered the pain in his back. A _gurgle_ came from the water plopping and swishing, and he caught the same coloured silver fish's (?) tail turning over in the shallow sand bed to return back to the depths of the water. It could've been a shark for all he knew, circling for him and waiting.

Whatever that thing was, it looked big, and Julian's mouth watered at the thought of eating a large silver shark or swordfish to feast on. N_ext time, you'll get it, and you'll regret dealing with Julian Devorak._ He promised himself.

He went to sleep that evening sprawled on his side, blinking in and out of sleep as he finally came to stare out just into the shore, before he heavily shut his eye, missing the creature's head bob up and dive back out of sight, its tail silver and long, flickering out and disappearing.


	2. Creatures Lurk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julian grows hungrier and hungrier, and his attention is set on hunting a very large fish that he has hopes in hunting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mentions of blood and injury, Julian feeling bad.

By the next day, the sun was already glaring down into Julian's eye, a flare that shone bright when he opened them, causing the failed physician to shield it with a notable groan of discomfort. When he did come around, he was aware that the sun was growing higher in the air, yet the air was still thin with heat. It meant there was an open window for him to gather as many things needed before the day got hotter.

His back was in mild discomfort, more so from how he slept - or how little he did - than from his wounds. Peeling back the seaweed, Julian squirmed at the dry feel that felt as if it was ripping at his flesh. _This feels even worse than I realised._ He thought, believing the possible look of it would be rather disgusting and off-putting.

He followed the same procedures: stepping in with as less pain into the water, reaching to his waist and trying to clean his wound out as best as he could, before collecting seaweed to wrap around it. His shirt might've been ripped at the back, but it kept him somewhat protected from the sun, and unfortunately to him, he burnt quickly. Scavenging for items in the damp forests and high trees in the middle of the island, he made sure to not wander too far off in case he would get lost and lose his set-up camp.

In the end, he had gathered some mud on his skin as a barrier against the sun, including his fair arms and face. He also managed to go looking for some sort of protection if need be. It was certainly in his mind used for later use for hunting. The stick was half his height, thick in the width but with some adjustments could be used for a weapon. When he returned, the sun was high enough in the sky and the sun was reflecting off from the water into his eye, giving him barely any protection at all.

Julian sat back in his spot, rummaging in his trouser pockets for anything useful: a small knife half the length of his forearm could be handy to open things like clams and man-made items, but it wasn't enough just for fending for himself. _No, I would need this for a certain fish._ He thought, looking out towards the water. 

The water flickered and licked at the white sand, little fishes could be seen swimming by the shores, but would not be big enough for him to eat. No, he was planning for something _bigger_ that was circling around in the darkened waters. Julian believed that this would set him and his hunger, an insatiable appetite he had that would suffice him greatly.

It was now a game of waiting, and planning his mode of attack.

The sun growing low by the time the afternoon rolled round, and Julian had been starving by then, staring out into the waters in silence... scheming. The same shark had been swarmed and circling, never seeming to leave, but its tail flickered up occasionally in the waters, a flick and splash and it would be gone hunting in the darkness again. Julian watched with keen eyes, watching the way it moved, the way it would flick up into the shallow end to turn itself over, and then, he would know when was right to strike.

It was dark when the evening had settled, Julian's fire burning hotter than a thousand stars as he watched from a distance away from his small camp. He watched the water stir and flicker, staring at the familiar colours as he waited and waited, the hunger bringing out more of a primal need in a man like himself now that he had been deprived of food for a full day - but that day and those minutes felt like weeks.

There was a place where Julian could step up onto the rocks, staring down towards the large dip in the water, standing bare foot with the mud caked on his pale burnt skin. Now was the time to wait.

It could either take minutes, or hours, and Julian would have to just watch, spear pointed towards the sloshing waters, eye darting in all directions. _The storms will come and go, taking the fishes with it. The little fish get eaten, but I will not stop until the big one is dead._ He thought determined. He may of been a unlicensed doctor, but he was certainly trying to make sure he lived long enough to not starve himself to death.

In the split second flashed something within the depths of water, and in his state of hunger and willpower, all in Ilya Devorak's mind screamed for food. In the split part of his head, he was already using the spear in his grip, spinning the pointy end, and stabbing it with as much speed and might into the waters below him.

Something tugged and strained against the point of the spear, and Julian could feel that he had been quick enough to pierce the flesh. He grunted, and indeed, the fish was big, sizable he knew but it was larger than he expected. Julian tugged and tried wiggling the spear further into the water, and further into the fish, watching before him the sea grow tainted in blood. 

The dying heat from the wind howled and screamed in Julian's face, a beast the squirmed and wrestled for freedom, a large tail of bright silver crashed up against the waves, not breaking to get away. Julian hissed as his palms strained and blistered, his body constantly nearly going over the edge and trying to pull him in, but he planted his feet with some strenuous pain to dig them in the dirt and rocks to supplant himself in one spot.

The water stilled, and for a second, Julian had thought that he had succeeded in killing the large fish or shark, a sigh of relief coming from his lips as he wiped at his forehead. His moment of triumph was left unfinished when his spear was tugged forward with a blunt force, his hands still around the spear and not expecting quite to feel something forcefully pulling him forward.

Julian met the shallow water with a sting to his skin, the saltwater meeting his wound as he wriggled to breach the surface. Something skimmed his ankles, slippery in slimy texture, Julian screamed to get out as fast as possible. The salt burned his eye as he looked around in steadfastness, he was met with just the clear blue waters tinted a green-grey.

_My spear, where is my spear?_ He breached the surface for air, treading water, not wanting his meal to get away. There, drifting away from him, the makeshift spear was floating away from him. He swam with half the saltwater in his throat, looking around in case he could be attacked at any second. He grabbed at his weapon, swimming back towards the small edge, clinging to the rocks.

His fingers bled as he tried to climb up one handed, a burning in his lungs gave him the sensation of drowning, and he felt once again as if he was underwater when his ship was going under siege. _If there was anyway to die, it would never want to be by drowning ever again._ He thought, the memory growing to become a horrible nightmare.

A _splash_ came from his far left, and when he looked, the large silver tail of the fish slipped under the waters, squirming in difficulty to turn itself around and get away from the shallow sand beds that left back to shore.

This was possibly his chance to get it, before it slipped before him and it was too late.

Julian staggered/waded through the heavy water, coming into to close the creature in until it was practically backed to the shore. Using the spear point, Ilya begun using it to slowly get the fish further and further out from the water, a way to dry it up before ending it for good. The seaweed tickled at his bare skin, and he knew he was getting close into getting a meal for once, and in an attempt to drive the fish further along shore, Julian pierced the spear down into the water, driving it into the skin of the creature further.

The fish wriggled and a elongated cry came from just in front of him; a sad tune familiar from those of whales, but most definitely a tune so forlorn. In his mind of hunger, Julian paused, staring as the silhouette of the creature looked slim and long, trails of what looked like seaweed floating upwards on the top, and before him small bubbles came to the surface, each one more paused and frantic than what could come from a possible human.

Julian lowered his spear, watching with curiosity and horror as before him in the shallowness of the red-mixed water, a head floated to the top, and eyes were staring back with anger back into his.


	3. Disbelief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Julian is certain that there isn’t a massive half-human half-fish creature in front of him, but he is certain he has lost his mind.

Julian lowered his spear, watching with curiosity and horror as before him in the shallowness of the red-mixed water, the head floated to the top, and eyes were staring back with anger back into his.

In that instant, he thought truly that the denial and lack of shade had brought him to insanity; staring down into the waters, dirtying up to mix the blue with the red, creating a brown-green hue.

The droplets were thick and hanging off the person’s head, a head that looked most likely from a female if he had remembered what they had looked like. Their eyes - almond-shaped and dark - held no warmth, the only fury as they seemed to snarl and squint back up at him.

Quickly, Julian hastily threw the spear back over his head, the sound plonking and wadding in the water behind, as the wave caught it and dragged it to and from the shoreline, drifting further and further away from him.

Wrapping the imagery in his mind of what could’ve possibly been in front of him - a strange lady with only her head floating on top, Julian tried to get some sounds resembling words out of his drying mouth. 

Wracking his fingers together decidedly, he tried to give a nervous smile. “Erm, hi?”

The creature, not impressed, didn’t answer, instead, bringing out another low whine mixed with a hiss, something similar to what Pepi would let out when she was annoyed; and downright, the creature was too.

_I’m not surprised, if you had been speared in the leg, would you be chipper about it? _Ilya studied dumbfounded, lifting his arms to give off the look of submission.

The creature didn’t take its eyes off him, and instead, in a last-second scramble, tried convulsing and twisting its way back into the water where it had come from.

Julian gave off a small noise of uncertainty, trying to clamber back to the bottom of the creature hastily and clumsily, all long limbs trying to reach out to help. “Here, let me- _woah_!”

His hand hadn’t even come out properly in reach yet and instead of not touching soft flesh, he found his fingers feeling for the same slimy texture found when he touched wet seaweed or from fishes they had caught from his time onboard_ Eliana’s Song_.

He recoiled, as a something thick and long came and swiped underneath his feet, with the same texture he had felt on his fingers, now knocking him backwards into the shallow waters below.

He tumbled and luckily being tall enough to properly submerge, he spluttered when the saltwater reached his mouth and nothing else, but now he would have to deal with wet clothes once more.

“Gosh darn it, not again.” He lamented heavily, his eyes briefly looking up before doing a double-take, startling him at what was now in front.

It wasn’t just now an angry woman’s head just floating above, but now a proper head attached with a torso and lower body, but something was whipping out like an aggravated snake through the water, and in that flash, the same silver flickering of a snake-like tail snapped back into the small waves.

_Oh crap._

Julian tried pushing himself backwards, finding that the seabed was growing deeper the more he went in, watching in fear as the drowned woman crawled like a predator towards him.

Their human skin was blue-ish, making them look more like a drowned corpse than a living being, matching the bodies he had tried saving when seamen fell into the waters.

Their hair hung over their face, altering their features as their lips opened, and Julian pulled back in dread when he saw jaws pointing back at him. 

_So, the tales of the merfolk were true all along?_ He thought in morbid fascination, awaiting what would be his end. He had remembered the stories he had been told by Mazelinka; of beauties prowling in the deep rich seas, seducing sailors in and bringing them more than just trepidation.

The siren was near now to his face, hissing with its mouth pulled back in almost an animalistic and horrific display; eyes black with no pupil, fingernails sharpened and growing into talons, they tried to reach out and take a final swipe at his face, and Julian awaited the end with both awe.

_At least I will go to my grave knowing that they always existed._ Ilya thought, shutting his eyes finally as he waited for it, the hideous slash across his throat and the feeling of drowning in his blood, but that never came.

Opening one of his eyes slowly, Julian observed from the other side what was taking place in front of him.

The siren pulled back with another low forlorn whine from the throat, ceasing all movement as the pulled back, the same hand coming to touch at their tail.

Julian watched, not moving nor speaking, watching more of the blood seeping out as the creature watched on and wriggled at its ultimate demise.

_Poor thing-- _no_! I shouldn’t pity it! It tried to kill me!_ Ilya bickered in his mind, trying to think what Mazelinka or Pasha would do if they were in his shoes. They certainly wouldn’t have allowed this creature to live.

Another pathetic, yearning whine came from the siren, as they waded through the shallow depths, their skin pale, and almost in the soft sunlight of the day, they looked so much like a woman he had remembered back in Nevivon.

_Dammit, Pasha will think of me as weak._ He sighed in defeat. I_ just cannot say no to a pretty face._

“Medicine... Medicine! I can help you-- wait there, darling!” He scrambled back up to his feet, rushing past the half-naked woman as he ran back to his camp, trying to find anything useful. Dried up seaweed and some cloth he had found in his pocket that resembled a handkerchief, he ran back into the shoreline, happy to still see the siren still laying there.

“Okay, I’m just going to add pressure, this may hurt.” He brought the dried seaweed as it still had some moisture to look like a paste, bringing up the silver tail that looked heavier than it looked.

He heaved it into his lap, kneeling before her on his knees as he inspected the wound. It wasn’t too deep, but it certainly looked like it would hurt and leave much more of a puncture wound for sharks to come out and find her.

He applied the seaweed to the end of the tail, and again, another drawn-out hiss came from the lips of the siren, the longing arrival for death, yet tortured for it all; sadly looking on as they watched Ilya at work.

Skilful with his work and hands, he was able to wrap the cloth around the wound and seal up the wound with enough seaweed, using some string he wound the bind it all together as he set to marvel at it all. 

For the lack of supplies and anything to stitch it up, he thought he did quite the good job.

“There, I’m sorry about... all that. I suppose you got back at me for all that earlier.” Julian apprehensively spoke, running a hand through his drying hair.

The siren watched him, not speaking to him, as if more watchful of the craft of his aid on her. She lifted the end of her tail above the water, looking at the bandage with close inspection and squinted eyes.

Julian nervously observed it all, and before he could utter another word to the creature, the siren had rolled onto their stomach once more, and dragging with their nails back into the water, until they had engulfed themselves’ fully, and disappearing fully below the darkening waters.

Ilya hummed in thought, maybe more in interest as to what he just took part in. “Huh, Pasha will laugh at me for believing I just saved a mermaid.”


	4. Bargaining

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that he knows mermaids do exist, Ilya goes out of his way to try and befriend his new fishy companion.

The sun rose beyond the horizon of the azure sky and seafoam sea, drifting it caught in Julian's eyes with a groan of frustration when he was awoken by the rising heat. _Five minutes, please._ I don't want to face another day in the dying heat. His skin was prickling and burning from the heat, and he had applied mud until it dried, wearing it as if he was wearing new skin. It didn't help that much when he had to apply it every five seconds; layer after layer.

_My skin will blister and I will look like one soon._ Julian groaned, throwing a hand over his eyes as he screwed them shut. _Oh, Pasha, when will the torment end?_

A _plop_ came from not too far to where he resided, the sound that made him lift his head briefly, but keened when his head begun to hurt._ I shall need some water soon, and by then, I'll know I will be truly insane._

He wanted to imagine what his younger sister would think of him when he returned back to the mainland, where he would be surrounded by humans once more; _a savage they'll call me, and one I will welcome. _He wanted to imagine being back home, in his bed and safe and sound with his family, not left in the wasteland on an island away from all. _Perhaps I have been dreaming all along and I've been drifting in the sea since the beginning? That would explain why I have been imagining a mermaid here._

There was a shifting of sand that came coming up the sandbanks, closer and closer, Julian could hear how whatever it struggled with a lack of being able to pull themself up higher from the water. Anyone else would look up and try and understand what was going on, but Julian had found that there was nothing that would gain his attention.

_When did the sun go in? Heh, have my prayers been answered?_ Julian wanted to praise whoever was there to help the sun cool down, but when he felt a large shadow drift over him, he wanted to assume that there would be a storm brewing.

It was only until he felt a heavy drop land on the side of his face that he finally ripped his eyes open upon the sight. _When did this island hold pretty maidens?_

The mermaid he had witnessed yesterday was not only here and existing, but hovering right above him, those piercing eyes staring directly into his own being with such a euphoric power but Julian didn't believe he would ever understand._ There is a beauty in this world that holds such danger, and I'm dancing with a creature that not many would say would exist._

There was a feeling pressed against his chest, and when Julian looked down, the mermaid had their webbed, clawed hands pressed up against and resting on him, their flesh flush to his that if he concentrated hard enough, he could pinpoint the feeling of her chest pressed against his-

He dismissed the thought before the blood poured to his head and made him red like a balloon; certain that such thoughts should be too provocative. _I am a doctor, and my imagination at sea has been left unattended._

"_You_ know, if you're going to sit there and watch, you could at least say something." Julian hummed, mumbling to himself like a deranged man. The mermaid gave a tilt of her head, one such image of a dog he found in Vesuvia, from the times he had fed the stray. The view alone made Julian's heart soar from the cuteness. Still, the mermaid gawked, giving no indication she was listening nor comprehended what was said to her.

"Like maybe... tell me what your name is, or, how many others are there of you? Or, whether I'll get off this island alive or just bones in the sand." His voice grew hoarse at the end of his ramble, quickly trailing off as he looked away. He sighed in discontent: if I am to befriend a mermaid, they could at least give me one who wanted to talk back, or even want to be my friend.

There was shifting once more in the sand beside him, and when Julian looked up, he witnessed the mermaid drag themselves back towards the water, like they were a sack of heavy sugar and they were trying to drag the weight back. The sight alone was rather comical.

"Hey, where are you going?" Julian called, but yet, the mermaid did not answer nor look back on him, leaving him to himself as she disappeared once more when she was fully submerged in water, and he waited once more for a couple of minutes, then hours, until he grew bored of waiting and assuming she wouldn't return.

He wandered from his spot around the small forest area of the island, looking for more twigs for the fire and rock and stone he would use for a weapon of some sort to crack stuff like coconuts open. He was rather disappointed to find no coconuts on the island.

When he returned, the sun was still high, but the day was coming to an end, and the hunger building in Julian was rumbling in his stomach. He knew he would have to cook once more, but hunting and fishing like last time didn't go so well. When he returned to his spot, the sand still had curvatures in a movement of something crawling and twisting with effort, dampness in a spot when he sat down.

When he looked to his poorly set-up fire, was when he thought he was truly hallucinating. There, sat perfectly on a large smooth stone, were two degutted silverfish, waiting as if on a platter for him to eat.

Where the gods truly playing a cruel joke on him? Were he to eat it and the touch would become to sand rather than what he had not been expecting? Another plop came from behind him, and when he looked back, into the rocky waters, there, sat on the rocks awaiting him was his new fishy friend.

"Did you get these for me?" He stood from his spot, walking towards her until he stood just a good distance that wasn't to scare her off. She was soaked to the bone but unbothered by it, her long hair keeping her modesty, as he silver tail flickered in and out of the water below; like when Pepi had been played with and was ready to strike.

"I-- thank you, this was not what I was expecting." Julian gave a grin, expecting her to not even bother giving him a look that told him she understood, but instead, she looked to him, and with a broad grin, opened her mouth, and music fell from her lips.

"You're welcome."


End file.
